I'm glad they're trying to improve, but it's not difficult to see what they're doing wrong: wrong locations (e.g. shopping districts rather than neighborhoods; Albertsons recently noted it's seeing a surge in foot traffic, lead by people stopping by after work to assemble a quick dinner), wrong promotion strategy (perpetual coupons rather than loss leaders) and really nothing else to differentiate itself.ClownLoach wrote: ↑November 20th, 2021, 9:27 pm I recently was emailed a survey from Amazon Fresh. This was without a doubt the longest customer survey I have ever encountered, and I have done focus groups and other such projects before. They wanted to know where else I shopped in the "Los Angeles Market.". I was amused to see that my "LA" options (besides everyone you would expect) included Vons, Albertsons, Pavilions and Safeway. Yes they are so inept they don't even realize that there are no "Safeway" branded stores here. What was interesting is that they asked more questions about my shopping experiences at Albertsons than any other store I said I shop regularly. Albertsons wasn't my #1 most shopped store. Literally every single category and subcategory of groceries was discussed, and I was asked what I thought about the selection, pricing, quality, assortment, private branding, promotional activities etc. Of every single one at Albertsons, then again at Amazon Fresh. Only reason I did the survey is that I will get a gift card (a Visa gift card not Amazon). So they are clearly trying to understand what they are doing wrong and what they can do to fix it.
I doubt the stores closures had anything to do with Fresh. The Irvine Albertsons that closed were clearly low-volume. The Jeffery/5 location and Quail Hill locations are also unquestionably low-volume, but have several more years left on their leases. Compare the amount of product in Ralphs to either of these stores -- it's not even close. The Quail Hill location hasn't even bothered to decorate or set-up any type of holiday display in several years. Ultimately, the area is turning toward Asian immigrants, and H Mart probably offered to pay more in rent. (Interestingly, the two H Marts were scheduled to open late summer, then 'late 2021,' but it doesn't appear as if any work is being done. Gotta wonder what's going on.)As far as the Irvine area and Long Beach areas are concerned - I'll bet Albertsons and Ralphs are sorry they closed those nearby stores that they thought would be slaughtered by Fresh (Long Beach was the one they pretended was about the hazard pay - because they would never go on record that they were scared of Amazon). Clearly they had nothing to lose in brick and mortar retail.
People overwhelming enjoy grocery shopping, so while online ordering will grow, having B&M stores will give them a bigger piece of the pie. These stores could've been successfull... too bad they blew it.All Fresh has proven is that they need to open some small grocery delivery depots in the urban areas to expedite deliveries, but they have no need to occupy retail space with a store open to the public. They probably were more profitable when they were delivery only and didn't have to pay for customer facing payroll.